1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for use in animal sensory discrimination.
2. Background of the Invention
Current designs of operant chambers used in animal sensory tests are often based on fluid delivery systems that utilize a limited number of reservoirs connected through tubing to a manifold that is in turn connected to a spout. Sample flow is often controlled by gravity. Clogging of the tubing often complicates sample delivery. Although this type of apparatus does provide some insight into what the animal senses, such designs limit the number of solutions that can be sampled by an animal, as well as the rate at which they can be tested.
An alternative approach to taste measurement that is higher throughput uses an apparatus usually referred to as a “lickometer,” which records the number of “licks” or tastes that an animal takes of a particular sample. This method, however, only provides an indication of whether a solution is avoided or preferred, and therefore does not provide a direct indication of whether the sample is similar to or different from what the animal has been trained to detect, e.g., salty, sweet, spicy, bitter, etc.
What is needed is a sensory discrimination apparatus that allows multiple samples to be rapidly tested, and also allows a direct measure of the sensory perception of the animal.